The piece previewed here, written by Baseball Prospectus’s Mauricio Rubio, forms part of the main site’s comprehensive coverage of the playoffs, “Playoff Prospectus.” Additional Game Four coverage, exclusive to BP Wrigleyville, can be found here, under the name “Second City October”
The Chicago Cubs, facing a potential 3-1 hole against a team with the best pitcher on the planet still in play for one more game, finally drew breath in Los Angeles. For 21 straight innings the Cubs’ offense was suffocated by Rich Hill, Clayton Kershaw, and the rest of the Dodgers’ pitching staff. Then a few soft hits found holes before Addison Russell, who entered the game with a batting average that started with a zero, pierced through the Los Angeles marine layer and Dodgers pitching with one swing. The Cubs would follow with one run in the fifth and five more in the sixth, putting the game out of reach in the series’ first true laugher.
Some notes from Game 4 …
Addison Russell, Anthony Rizzo, and the Cubs break out
We were waiting for this game from the Cubs, some a little more nervously than others. Anthony Rizzo, who was looking tentative at the plate before Game 4, busted out of his slump with a fifth-inning solo shot that punctuated a strong 3-for-5 night for the big lefty. Ben Zobrist and the aforementioned Addison Russell also recorded strong multi-hit games, all positive signs for a team that was desperately needing their offensive production.
Julio Urías can’t finish off Javier Báez and Willson Contreras
The key hits the Cubs got ahead of the Russell home run came on two-strike counts, as Julio Urías struggled to put away Javier Báez and Willson Contreras. They both hit singles and Russell hit a fastball on the outer third out to center, giving the Cubs a commanding 4-0 lead. Urías started strong, using up only 12 pitches in the first inning, but he ended up tossing a lot of extra pitches in the second after Chase Utley tried and failed to bare-hand a Corey Seager flip, resulting in an error. The Cubs had keyed in on Urías by the time the fourth inning rolled around and Dave Roberts lifted him.
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Lead photo courtesy Richard Maxson—USA Today Sports.